Top 5 Sleeper Shortstops for 2023 Fantasy Baseball Season

Opening Day is just around the corner, but there's still time to research and prepare for your 2023 fantasy baseball drafts.

Thankfully, The Duel is here to help with our annual fantasy baseball preseason prep. You can check out our top 100 fantasy baseball player rankings here, as well as our top 25 team names.

In addition to our top 10 fantasy baseball shortstops for the 2023 MLB season, here are our top fantasy baseball sleeper shortstops as well.

Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Sleepers 2023

5. Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs

Hoerner finally got to play a full season in 2022 and he didn't disappoint, batting .281/.327/.410 with 10 home runs and 20 steals in 135 games. The former first-round pick is heading into his age-26 season and appears to be hitting his stride after four big-league seasons. At the very least, he can be trusted to provide some speed and a high average based on his career .277 mark, which is a byproduct of his elite bat-to-ball skills (career 13.1 K%).

4. Enrique Hernandez, Boston Red Sox

Hernandez will cover shortstop for Boston while Trevor Story is on the mend, which is expected to be for at least the first half, if not the entire season. Injuries ruined Hernandez's 2022 campaign, but he was excellent in 2021 for the Red Sox with 20 homers, 60 RBIs, 84 runs and a .786 OPS. Hernandez posted similar numbers during his time with the Dodgers as well, so a return to health should equal a return to form for the 31-year-old veteran.

3. Javier Baez, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are a good team to target for fantasy sleepers this year after most of their top players struggled last year. Baez is at the top of that list after the former NL MVP runner-up completely fell off the map offensively last year. He's still only 30 and is just one season removed from an All-Star-caliber 2021, so it's reasonable to expect at least a modest bounce-back from him this season. Even if that's not a full return to form, it should mean 20+ homers, double-digit steals and an average around .250.

2. Jorge Mateo, Baltimore Orioles

The rate stats (.221/.267/.379) weren't pretty, but the AL-leading 35 steals more than made up for them. Mateo flashed solid power as well with 13 home runs, unlike a lot of speedsters who don't offer much in that department. He's still pretty raw for a 27-year-old, as last season was only his third in the majors and his first full campaign. His walk rate has improved every year (albeit only slightly), which offers hope that he can continue to make strides at the plate in 2023 for a Baltimore team that appears to be on the brink of contention.

1. Oswald Peraza, New York Yankees

There's a lot of hype around Peraza this year, who's one of the Yankees' best prospects and regarded as their likely shortstop of the future. He helped his case by slashing .306/.404/.429 in 18 games after his call-up last year, looking incredibly polished for a 22-year-old. He's a popular AL Rookie of the Year pick this season and is expected to inject some much-needed youth into New York's veteran roster. The Derek Jeter comparisons may seem a bit premature, but that's the type of ceiling he has.